2023-20234 NYSIPM Program Expansion Highlights

New York State Integrated Pest Management 2023–2024 Annual Report

Stronger Together: Pesticide Safety Education Program Joins NYSIPM

At New York State Integrated Pest Management, we promote coordinated efforts and integrated approaches as the building blocks of strong pest management plans, and this year, we took a page from our own playbook, strengthening NYSIPM and Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) by integrating our programs. 

Building on decades of collaboration and the synergy of our respective missions, PSEP officially joined NYSIPM in the fall of 2023 and immediately expanded the collective reach of both programs. 

About PSEP

PSEP is a federally mandated program providing pesticide certification and training throughout New York. The program develops Pesticide Applicator Certification Training Manuals, delivers in-person, webinar and distance learning recertification courses to New York’s more than 25,000 certified pest applicators through its Distance Learning Center, reviews and publishes the Cornell Crop and Pest Management Guidelines and serves as an unbiased source of pesticide information for applicators, researchers and the general public.  

Impact

The move has inspired ideas, energized staff and maximized funding, allowing for increased extension, outreach and research efforts. 

portrait of a Mike Helms
Michael Helms

Pesticide Safety Education Program Leader

NYS Integrated Pest Management

Michael Helms
portrait of Bill Parken
Bill Parken

PSEP IT Support Assistant

NYS Integrated Pest Management

Bill Parken
face
Frank Smith

Senior Programmer/Analyst, Pesticide Sales and Use Reporting (PSUR) Database Group

NYS Integrated Pest Management

Frank Smith
portrait of Amber VanNostrand
Amber VanNostrand

PSEP Program Extension Aide

NYS Integrated Pest Management

Amber VanNostrand
person with long hair and a winter hat
Robert Warfield

IT Project Manager III, Pesticide Sales and Use Reporting (PSUR)

NYS Integrated Pest Management

Robert Warfield
portrait of Dan Wixted
Dan Wixted

PSEP Extension Support Specialist

NYS Integrated Pest Management

Dan Wixted

The Foundation of NYSIPM: Building our Team 

From Albany to Buffalo, the North Country to Nassau County, pests are present in every corner of the Empire State, and so is New York State Integrated Pest Management. Our innovative team meets New Yorkers where they live, work, learn and play-from cornfields to ball fields-empowering them with the knowledge they need to manage pests safely and effectively. As the needs of Empire State residents grow, so is the NYSIPM team. 

Community IPM

Regina Clinton

Regina provides in-person education, training and consultation and extension services in Western New York and throughout New York State. Her outreach efforts connect diverse urban, suburban, rural and agricultural communities with the strategies and resources they need to develop successful integrated pest management plans. Prior to joining NYSIPM, Regina served as a lecturer and instructor at Nazareth University (formerly Nazareth College) and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo, where she specialized in courses related to ecology and biology. 

Field Crops IPM

Michael Hunter

As NYSIPM’s field crops specialist, Mike provides farmers and growers with the tools they need to address common pest concerns and develop comprehensive IPM plans in order to protect and increase yields and maximize resources. A fifth-generation New York farmer, Mike spent 25 years as a field crops specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension’s North Country Regional Ag Team, where he provided research-based field crop production recommendations and resources to farmers, crop consultants and agribusinesses, with the goal of improved crop production efficiency through increased yields, improved quality, decreased input costs, protected yields and new technologies. 

Economist

Allan Pinto

As NYSIPM’s first economist, Allan studies the economic benefits of adopting alternatives to neonicotinoid insecticides being developed at Cornell University and examines the economic impact of the invasive spotted lanternfly in agricultural systems, with a focus on grape production in order to help New York’s agriculture and viticultural communities make informed, risk-based decisions. Prior to joining NYSIPM, Allan, a postdoctoral research associate, worked with Professor Miguel Gomez in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, where he contributed to an economic analysis of on-farm integration of organic management of spotted-wing drosophila in fruit crops and analyzed the economic benefits of replacing tillage in organic grain crop production with new technologies. 

Program/extension aide

Sean O’Neill

Sean brings a passion for botany, horticulture and organic farming to his role as program/extension aide for NYSIPM. He provides invaluable support to the Program’s digital development projects and the Network for Environmental Weather Applications (NEWA).  Prior to joining NYSIPM, he conducted bioinformatics analytics for Professor Thomas Bjorkman’s Eastern Broccoli Project.  

Research technician

Hannah Tolz

A recent graduate of Cornell’s Plant Sciences program, Hannah brings extensive knowledge and an eye for creativity to her role as a research technician at the Hudson Valley Research Laboratory where she supports IPM research and programs in myriad ways, including rearing insect colonies, monitoring and trapping pests, conducting bio-assays, collecting field samples and contributing photographs and illustrations for educational materials. 

people having a conversation in front of an information table about ticks and spotted lanternflies
Person looking at farm equipment
portrait of Alan Pinto
person working on a weather station with clouds in the background
Hannah Tolz with a spotted lanternfly on her hand

About the 2023-2024 Annual Report